Horoscope

Sunday 2 February 2003 06.45 EST
First published on Sunday 2 February 2003 06.45 EST

If it's your birthday this week: Over the past six months, Jupiter has asked you to find more space in your life. Mind-broadening travel and an enlarged home may well have given you the answer in literal form. Shedding a restrictive partner is another option. Issues relating to your freedom spring back to the fore in spring. May and June are months when the cosmos is very much on your side - do your accounts carefully (Jupiter likes to overspend) then take a leap. Happy returns.

Aquarius 20 Jan-19 Feb: Yesterday's new Moon in the Urn Bearer makes the next fortnight prime time for initiating your projects. You are being hurried along especially swiftly now, as far as your plans go in the impersonal world of work. Don't allow tussles with your partner, which ease in a month's time, to interfere with your agenda. Lots of other, less intimate contacts are interested in your schemes.

Pisces 20 Feb-20 Mar: A cute, sensitive water sign such as yourself isn't going to go unchallenged when so many planets are in fire and air signs, but providing you're game for the odd confrontation with the awkward squad at work, you'll be fine. Your mental agility and intuition will dance you through this week, especially Monday and Tuesday. Network away - but the real challenge now is to establish self-sufficiency.

Aries 21 Mar-19 Apr: As you, of all zodiac signs, know best, there is no time like the present. For once your impatience is completely justified. Your ruling deity, Mars, is currently a fireball allowing you to crack the whip at work and in your personal relations (only if that's your thing of course). Lead from the front, while remembering that not everyone drives as recklessly as you. You're especially hot stuff on Wednesday and Thursday - warn your friends.

Taurus 20 Apr-20 May: Got the full picture yet? You're moving into a phase when issues that have been clouded in uncertainty (or downright deceit) are finally exposed to the cold light of day. Mercury and Venus show you're the one now in charge of communications and pace-setting - put your foot down, especially at work. Bonzer weekend also coming up - good moment for sky-gazing and ground-breaking.

Gemini 21 May-20 Jun: While Geminis like to blow with the wind, not everyone appreciates your free-form attitude to life - not while the current range of planets is opposite you. Self-reliance is one way to defuse any antagonism, that and keeping your eye firmly on your plans. Thanks to helpful connections from the Sun in airy Aquarius, your brightest, most unconventional ideas are the ones to follow now. If you're in a romance, make sure you give as good as you get.

Cancer 21 Jun-22 Jul: You have to take your pleasures where you find them at present; a grabbed conversation around the office water cooler, a bracing walk, or a wit-sharpening contretemps with your dearly beloved. And while the subject of money may not currently be your favourite, peering into your fiscal portfolio can prove rewarding.

Leo 23 Jul-22 Aug: Lovey-dovey, sun-dappled romance isn't quite Leo style, so you won't mind that your personal relationships currently come strongly flavoured, with just a soupçon of jealousy in the mix. Yesterday's new Moon in your partnership sector is a hint that you sometimes have to see things from other people's point of view. Problem is, with Mars and Jupiter sending your adrenaline levels soaring, your own needs and desires are so much more interesting than anyone else's. What the heck, grab it while you can.

Virgo 23 Aug-22 Sep: Pumping energy into your job, and figuring out just where it's taking you (or not, as the case may be) is de rigueur for now. Employment prospects should look rather different in a month's time. Meanwhile, the pouting and partying sector of your 'scope is being activated; this week, especially, you can remind the world (and yourself) that you're not just a worker drone. For Virgoans in a romantic tangle, the guesswork has now ended; you're the one calling the shots.

Libra 23 Sep-23 Oct: If January put you somewhat uncomfortably on the spot, professionally or domestically, be aware you're not off the hook yet. Happily, the next fortnight offers the chance to settle irksome misunderstandings and complete deals that have refused to gel; get organised and get devious. The next fortnight is perfect for parading your creative talents (ie showing off your overpriced wardrobe) and lovable side (you're such a flirt). Enjoy.

Scorpio 24 Oct-21 Nov: Focus is rarely a problem for Scorpios, but second thoughts about the direction you undertook last autumn are in order and helpful. Since the planet in question is highlighted this week, picking up a spilled opportunity or renegotiating a deal are on the cards. Consider your options. Personal affairs are sweetly, though not decisively, framed this week.

Sagittarius 22 Nov-21 Dec: Somewhat alarmingly, one twelfth of 2003 is already gone. More reassuringly, your personal year is just getting up to speed. If you put in a little effort this week, the tempo and quality of your social life - and your romantic prospects - pick up dramatically. Whether pruning old friendships or forging new ones, you're the one in control at present. Will power remains your number one asset now. Use it well.

Capricorn 22 Dec-19 Jan: Once Venus the enchanter arrives in the Goat's patch of sky on Wednesday. You're not only the smartest sign on the block but the most magnetic. You can choose between playing party host or mankiller/ladykiller. Next weekend, when the quarter Moon falls in the most cheery sector of your horoscope, is the perfect time to practise your chosen role. If you insist on worrying about something, chew your nails while contemplating your finances.